July 29, 2015, 7:26PM

WASHINGTON – It would be easier to fire or demote employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs under legislation that passed the House Wednesday (July 29). Under the bill, VA employees would have seven days to appeal a firing or demotion, and the Merit Systems Protection Board 45 days to rule on appeals. Sponsors said the bill, which passed 256-170,... Full story »

July 17, 2015, 7:24PM

July 06, 2015, 7:29AM

Even a torrential downpour didn't dampen the spirit of Lafitte's officials and residents in their determination to honor those veterans who gave their lives in service to our country. As huge raindrops began to fall, the entire assembly simply moved from the lawn to the covered front porch of the town hall. Claudia Lauland, who is a staunch supporter... Full story »

July 02, 2015, 11:00AM

The head of the Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs is not happy with the latest hire at New Orleans' $1 billion soon-to-be hospital for veterans. Secretary David LaCerte, appointed by Gov. Bobby Jindal to oversee the state's VA department, says New Orleans' newest hospital needs a chief of staff who does not hail from a facility where internal auditors... Full story »

June 13, 2015, 5:22PM

WASHINGTON – There's yet another delay in opening up a new Veterans Affairs medical clinic in Lafayette. The latest delay results from an impasse over a contract to open a temporary clinic at a building operated by Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Lafayette. The dispute is over the Catholic hospital's insistence any lease respect its religious and ethics policy... Full story »

June 04, 2015, 2:14PM

Bankston Jones, 12, of Eufaula Alabama, shakes the hand of Tom Blakey after he gave them a history lesson at the National WWII Museum on May 15, 2014. The boys were there with their school group. Blakey has been a volunteer at the museum since 2000, when it opened as the National D-Day Museum. "It's history," he said. iIt tells...

June 04, 2015, 2:14PM

World War II veteran Aubrey Covington, right, toasts his fellow veterans with French campaign after receiving the French Legion of Honor Medal, France's highest honor, on Thursday, February 26, 2015 at the National WWII Museum in New Orleans. French Consul General Gregor Trumel presented the six medals to Ralph Bertheaud (posthumous), Louis Bradley, Aubrey Covington, Leonard Kuckelman, Ubert Labat, and...

May 28, 2015, 11:56AM

WASHINGTON – Facing increased demand for services at a time it is trying to rebuild a reputation tarnished by cover-ups of long wait times for medical and mental health care, the Department of Veterans Affairs is waging a campaign to get more volunteers into its hospitals and clinics. "We have made progress over the past year addressing the challenges we... Full story »

May 12, 2015, 12:34PM

The second annual Louisiana Veterans Festival will be held Saturday (May 16) in Slidell, and proceeds will go to the East St. Tammany Habitat for Humanity to help r build homes for veterans. The festival is from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. at the Northshore Harbor Center. The first festival last year attracted more than 2,000 and raised more than... Full story »

April 30, 2015, 3:54PM

The fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975, might not be the day most Americans want to remember about the Vietnam War. But it marked as good a day as any to say thank you and honor veterans' service Thursday (April 30). At the Robert H. Burns American Legion Post No. 16 Hall in Covington, a couple of hundred veterans,... Full story »

April 20, 2015, 4:14PM

First lady Michelle Obama joined Mayor Mitch Landrieu on Monday (April 20) to recognize New Orleans as the first city to house all of its homeless veterans, calling it an "extraordinary achievement." "This is a call to action to our entire country," Obama said while speaking at Gallier Hall. "You all have proven that even in a city as... Full story »

April 06, 2015, 2:00PM

With a necessary zoning change in hand, the New Orleans Mission says it is moving forward with the purchase of the former K Bar B Youth Ranch on the north shore, where it plans to operate a spiritual and vocational program for needy people, including a house specifically for homeless veterans. The St. Tammany Parish Council approved the property zoning... Full story »

March 25, 2015, 10:33AM

WASHINGTON -- Bowing to congressional pressure, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has agreed to change the calculation used to determine if a veterans lives far enough away from a VA health facility to qualify for federally funded private health care. Previously, the agency had used a straight line measurement to determine if the nearest VA facility was located within... Full story »

March 16, 2015, 2:00PM

Gold star mother Gina Guillory, who lost her son Michael in Afghanistan in 2012, holds her hand to her heart during a candlelight vigil to honor the 11 servicemen killed in a helicopter crash off the coast of Florida, including 4 soldiers in the Louisiana National Guard, near the Veteran's Memorial in Metairie on Sunday, March 15, 2015. Guillory's daughter...

March 15, 2015, 9:14PM

Gold star mother Gina Guillory, who lost her son Michael in Afghanistan in 2012, pets Alleyoop, a PTSD service dog, before a candlelight vigil to honor the 11 servicemen killed in a helicopter crash off the coast of Florida, including 4 soldiers in the Louisiana National Guard, near the Veteran's Memorial in Metairie on Sunday, March 15, 2015. Guillory's daughter...

March 15, 2015, 9:14PM

Gold star mother Gina Guillory, who lost her son Michael in Afghanistan in 2012, gets a hug from her boyfriend, Richard Klein, also a veteran, during a candlelight vigil to honor the 11 servicemen killed in a helicopter crash off the coast of Florida, including 4 soldiers in the Louisiana National Guard, near the Veteran's Memorial in Metairie on Sunday,...

March 15, 2015, 9:14PM

Paul Boyd of Metairie light his candle during a vigil to honor the 11 servicemen killed in a helicopter crash off the coast of Florida, including 4 soldiers in the Louisiana National Guard, near the Veteran's Memorial in Metairie on Sunday, March 15, 2015.(Photo by Julia Kumari Drapkin, Nola.com | The Times-Picayune)

March 15, 2015, 9:14PM

Kory Mundy honors the four friends he lost in Unit 244 of the Louisiana Guard, who were killed in a helicopter crash off the coast of Florida, during a candlelight vigil at Veteran's Memorial in Metairie on Sunday, March 15, 2015.(Photo by Julia Kumari Drapkin, Nola.com | The Times-Picayune)

March 15, 2015, 9:14PM

Friends and families of veterans along with members of the Military Advocacy Project, hold a candlelight vigil to honor the 11 servicemen killed in a helicopter crash off the coast of Florida, including 4 soldiers in the Louisiana National Guard, near the Veteran's Memorial in Metairie on Sunday, March 15, 2015.(Photo by Julia Kumari Drapkin, Nola.com | The Times-Picayune)